Monday, February 12, 2007

When Sorrows Come

They come not single spies but in battalions.

At least, that's the way it seems lately. I don't care to list all the gory details to convince you that my laundry list of bad experiences over the last few years warrants the melodramatic use of Hamlet, but it is my favorite play and it captures how I imagine at least one member of my family must feel.

First things first, I am fine. I had the laparoscopic surgery rather than the big scary version, and my cyst is gone without any major complications. I did have an allergic reaction to an anti-nausea drug that earned me an overnight stay in the hospital for what was supposed to be outpatient surgery. I vomited three times and got the detox shakes really bad when coming down from the anesthesia but those wore off at about the same time I could finally hold down food. I ate an excellent filet of salmon with rice and cooked carrots at 2am. It was seriously excellent - or - the two days of fasting made it so.

I do have endometriosis but it is only stage 3 (out of 4) and my tubes are open, so I can theoretically be a mom to my own child someday, hopefully soon. We have a 3-6 month window to try and then we'll have to use more "aggressive" measures... whatever those are. We'll see how it goes.

My surgeon was wonderful; I like him more every time I have to talk to him. He used a harmonic scalpel to excise the endo which is wonderful news - it means less chance of the endo coming back, less pain, etc, etc. We'll see how it goes. I have NO expectations except that I will have to take birth control pills continuously until menopause. Oh well, no more periods for me! What a deal.

I even got pictures... haven't looked at those yet. Should I post with explanation or not?

To do, or not to do. That is the question I put to you. Wanna see 'em?

3 comments:

Daphne
said...

Glad to hear that everything went well, though sorry you had to spend the night. Salmon at a hospital? Wow- you are brave! Funny what post-surgery starvation will cause you to do... when I had my wisdom teeth removed I was desperate for solid food the day after. Ask Gorillaboy- he'll tell you about my pathetic attempts just to taste a french fry...I was licking the salt off of McDonald's fries and swallowing tiny pieces anything to avoid more jello. Glad your doc was a great one, they always make things a whole lot easier. And you got pictures too? Cool!! As someone who was a pre-vet major and still is fascinated with medical stuff like they show on the Discovery Health channel I find that pretty neat!

Glad everything went pretty well. That sounds almost exactly like my experience with anesthesia, but the allergic reaction is unfortunate. Nothing like a fast to make you appreciate your food! Yes, I want to see the pictures and explanation.

About Me

I'm a papermaker, a newspaper editor, and have a PhD in primate social psychology — I guess you could say I am a paper expert! Toddler Field Notes and her two canine companions — both Newfoundlands — make frequent appearances here.